Vacuum-cleaner.



J. W. SMITH.

- VACUUM CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 1912.

Patented Oct. 28, 1913.

2 SHEET BSHBET 1.

J. W. SMITH.

VACUUM CLEANER.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 1912.

Patented Oct. 28, 1913,

FIG- I 2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITE sra'rs P'rnN'r no JOHN w. SMITH, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, AssIeNon TO HOWARD SMALL AND CHARLES A. DUREN, BOTH or Pn ILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

VACUUM-CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Continuation of application Serial No. 573,599, filed July 25, 1919. This application filed April 22, 1912. Serial No. 692,486.

To all whom itmay concern:

. Be it known that I, JOHN, W. SMITH, a

citizen of the United-States, residing at Chifrom the operating mechanism of the pump to the outer. casing, and hence to the exterior of the vacuum'cleamng apparatus.

. Referring to the draw1ngs,F1gure I 1s a transverse sectional view through the center of a vacuum cleaner involving myinvention,

the pumping mechanism and its associate parts, however, being shown partly in elevation; Fig. II is a fragmentaryvertical section through the device on a plane at right angles to that of Fig. I; Fig. III -is a similar vie-w of a modification; and Fig. IV- is a detail of afurther modification.

In the drawings, the casing is designated by the numeral 1 and is double-walled for the purpose of deadening the sound caused 'by the operation of the device. The casing is mounted on a platform 2 supported by rollers 3. The pumping mechanism is sup-- ported from the wall of the casing by means oftan annulus 4: riveted to the wall and ra'bbeted as at 5 for the reception of a packing 6.-

Upon the packing rests an annulus 9, between which and a ring 10 is secured the diaphragm 11 of leather or other flexible material, which supports the pumping mechanism. Screws 12 and nuts 13 secure the annuli 9 and 10 and 4 together, and when "permit of the bowing of the valves. In Fig. I the position of the valves when closed is shown in full and when open ,in dotted lines. I

.The aiaphragm before described extends into the pumping chamber, the casing whereof is composed of two members 17, 18, secured together by screws 19 with the diavphragm between their adjacent edges. The diaphragm is given a pulsating movement bv a disk member 20 between the edges of which and a ring 21 the diaphragm is clamped v means of screws 22. At its center thedisk 20 is provided with a number of elongated narrow valve seats 23, which are covered by valves 24 similar in all respects to the valves 16 above referred to. The disk rically opposite portions of'the periphery thereof and formed at their lower ends with collars 26' which embrace eccentrics 27 is supported from the pump casing, the latter being provided with perforated lugs 34:, with which screws 35, extending through cars 36 in the motor casing, engage. The motor shaft is also provided with supporting roller bearings 37 one of which is illustrated in Fig. I in section. Uponthe upper end of the pump c sing is mounted a perforated plate 38, the purpose of which is to keep the fabric of the straining bag, to be described later, away from the valve and the seats. A handle 39 serves as a convenient means for removing and handling the pump and mot-or, when for-any reason it is desired to remove them from the cleaner casing. In Fig. III I have shown a modification of the manner of mounting the pump. In this case, the opertended beyond the casing at all, but the pumping mechanism is supported from another independent diaphragm 40. The latter is annular in form, and is clamped at its inner periphery between the plate 38 and the pum casing at 41.

In or or to avoid unnecessary wear upon Patented Oct. 28, 1913,

20 is given its reciprocating motion through a pair of arms 25.rigidly secured at diametmounted on the armature shaft 28 of a ating diaphragm of the pump 11' is not ex- 7 the diaphragm, the edge of the pump casing against which the diaphragm bears is cham fered, and the edge of the plate 38' 1s dished upwardly. The outer periphery of the diaphragm 40 is clamped between two dished rings 42 and 43, by means of screws The lower of these rings 43 is formed 1ntegral with a short cylinder 45, which rests edge 53 of a dished perforated plate 54:.

The latter element is formed with a circumferential groove 55, within which is clamped the upper edge of a fabric bag or receptacle 56, by means of a ring 57. FW- oted clamping bolts 58 with thumb nuts 59, serve to clamp the cover upon the casing.

In the modification shown "in Fig. IV, the diaphragm '60 connecting the pump chamber and casing is shown as of metal corrugated to give the necessary flexibility to deaden the sound. In this form, the pump diaphragm may be made of a different material, and both diaphragms are clamped together between the edges of the pump casing, as plainly shown in Fig. IV.

It is obvious that the form of the metal diaphragm may vary widely, and the pump chamber may depend below the annulus 4 instead. of being supported above it, as shown in Fig. IV, but such modification will clearly be withinthe scope of my invention. In my improved vacuum cleaner as described above, the casing is divided into two chambers, a suction and a pressure chamber, by the pump and the diaphragm connecting it to the wall of the casing, communication between the two chambers existing only through the pump,. and but a single packing 6 being necessary to effect the complete isolation of the chamber. It is not the purpose of this connection to dispense with and obviate the noise incident to the suction and expulsion of air, for the casing with its sound-deadening walls has proven sufficient for this purpose, but my present invention is intended to take care of and prevent the noise due to the movements of the operative parts. As described above, the pump and motor are connected to the casing only by the flexible diaphragm which does not readily transmit sound. There is, therefore, no continuous noise-conducting connection between the operating parts and the casing, such as exists when the connections are rigid, and even was large extent when they include the packing usually employed between the pump chamber and casing, and which is necessarily more or less compacted in adjusting the parts, and by the jarring incident to the operation. of the machine. I I

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination of a casing having a vacuum chamber, a pumping unit for said vacuum chamber, a flexible diaphragm, means for connecting said flexible diaphragm to said casing, and means forconnecting said diaphragm to said pumping unit, whereby said pumping unit is yieldingly supported by said casing.

2. The combination of a casing having a vacuum chamber, a pumping unit for said vacuum chamber, including a vibrating member, and means for vibrating said member, a flexible diaphragm, means for connecting said flexible diaphragm to said pumping unit, and means for connecting said flexible diaphragm to said casing, whereby said pumping unit is yieldingly supported-within said casing.

3. The combination of a casing, a diaphragm pump within the same, the diaphragm of the pump extending beyond the pump cylinder and connected to the casing to form a support for the pump.

4.. The combination of a support including an annulus, a diaphragm pump, the diaphragm of which extends outside the pump chamber and is connected to the said annulus.

5. The combination of a casing, a pump and motor supported within the casing, a flexible diaphragm connecting the pump and casing and together with the pump dividing the casing into two chambers.

6. The combination of a casing having an internal shoulder thereon, a packing on the shoulder, an annulus clamped to the packing, a pump within the casing. and a flexible diaphragm connecting the pump casing to the annulus.

7. The combination of a casing having an internal shoulder, an annulus resting upon said shoulder, a diaphragm pump, the diaphragm of which extends beyond the pumping chamber and is secured to the annulus.

8. The combination of an outer casing, a pump chamber, a diaphragm within said pump chamber, means for reciprocating said diaphragm, said means being supported by the pump chamber, and a flexible diaphragm for connecting the pump chamber to the outer casing for supporting the same.

9. The combination of an outer casing,

a diaphragm extending across said outer casing is divided into two chambers, a pump chamber mounted on said diaphragm, said pump chamber being spaced from said outer casing, whereby the same is yieldingly snpsigned my name at Chicago, in the county of ported, a rigid member connected to said Cook, and State of Illinois this 8th day diaphragm within the pump chamber, and of April 1912.

means connected with the rigid member for JOHN W. SMITH. 5 reciprocating the same, said' means being Witnessesz' supgorted by the pump chamber. AUSTIN I-I. PARKER,

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto T1105. D. OHERN. I 

